Long Distance
by Thisoneworksbetterthantwo
Summary: At a birthday party for Misty, Gary meets a charming girl named Dawn. Her boat back to Sinnoh gets cancelled, and she is forced to stay in Pallet town. When she finally finds a cruise back to Sinnoh, will she want to leave? Will Gary ask her to stay? Major Cavaliershipping and Pokeshipping with minor Contestshipping.
1. Chapter 1

Gary knocked on the door of the Ketchum residence. He had been invited to a birthday party for Misty, and Gary could never turn down a chance to pester Ash. The door was opened by Delia, who was beaming. "It's so nice to see you Gary! Come on in." Delia said. Gary smiled and sat Misty's present on the table. He bought her seven dive balls, for obvious reasons. As he entered into the living room, he realized there were tons of people that he didn't know. "Gah, I hate meeting new people" he thought, as he reluctantly made his way into the crowd.

Ash put his arm around Misty's waist and planted a kiss on her lips. "It was so sweet of you to throw me this party." said the carrot-top as she pulled her boyfriend closer. The couple had finally been able to get some privacy on the back porch. "You deserve it, Mist" he whispered, as he went in for another kiss. "Even though it's been kinda crazy, I'm glad all of our friends were able to make it. In fact, I think I just saw Gary pull up." Misty said. Ash groaned and rolled his eyes, "I guess I have to go talk to him. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to everyone else if I kept the birthday girl out here all night." he gave Misty one more passionate kiss, and grabbed her hand to walk her back inside. Misty giggled as Ash tugged at her arm.

Gary was relieved as he spotted his raven-haired friend coming towards him. Gary gave Ash a 'bro-hug' which seemed very awkward to Ash. "Hey man, is Misty ok?" asked Gary. "Yea, she's perfect. Why do you ask?" replied a confused Ash. "Because she must've lost her mind, to fall in love with someone like you." teased Gary, with a laugh that was slightly too loud. "Very funny, so funny I forgot to laugh. But, hey thank you for coming though, it means a lot." Ash said. Gary only nodded in return. Ash took that as a silent "you're welcome". Then a familiar face pranced over to join in the conversation, "Is this the infamous Gary Oak that I've heard so much about?" Dawn squealed as she playfully punched Ash on the shoulder.

Misty tapped May on the shoulder. May spun around and hugged Misty. "Hey girl! Happy Birthday!" May shrieked. Misty thanked her and the two made small talk for about ten minutes. Then Misty decided to bring up something more interesting. "So I heard Drew finally made his move." said Misty with a smirk . May blushed a deep red and nodded. "You know how he has a thing with roses? Well, he invited me to his house for dinner about a month ago, and when I got there, I was blown away. He opened the door, and there were roses and candles everywhere, literally everywhere. It was so beautiful." As May told the story she began to get a dreamy look in her eyes. "Wow, so romantic. Ash isn't exactly romantic, but he's perfect for me." Misty stated. May agreed.

"Gary, this is Dawn. She's a bit of a...fireball, to say the least." Ash nervously explained, hoping that Dawn wouldn't be offended and punch him in the face. Dawn only shot a mean glance in his direction, then turned to Gary to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you, I get the impression that everything Ash can do you can do better." Gary laughed and scratched the back of his head "Well, Ashy-boy has a way of making everything a competition." Ash frowned as he realized that he was being excluded from the conversation. He left them alone, and tried to find the cake.

Delia made her way into the living room. For a moment she felt a little nostalgic; her son and all these other kids were growing up. Pushing aside these sad thoughts, she put her fingers to her lips and let out an ear splitting whistle that quickly silenced the crowd. "Alright everyone, cake is ready! After cake, Misty will open her presents." Then suddenly from the back of the room someone shouted, "YES CAKE!" As soon as Misty realized it was Ash she just blushed and shook her head. "Well, he's not completely grown up yet" thought a suddenly happier Delia.

Misty thought the cake that Brock cooked was adorable; it was vanilla cake with a tentacool drawn in the icing. Dawn snatched her piece, and spun around to go eat it. Before she knew it, BAM. She he collided with that Oak kid she met earlier. They both had cake all over their clothes. Gary just laughed and Dawn kept saying, "I'm so sorry, goodness I'm such an idiot" Gary borrowed some extra clothes from Ash and Dawn borrowed some extra clothes from Misty.

Misty was delighted at all the presents she received: seven dive balls from Gary, a case full of poffins from Dawn, a new outfit from May, a baby Mudkip from Brock, and a new pokedex from Delia. Misty tried to hide her disappointment as she discovered that there wasn't a present from Ash. "What did I expect? Ash has never been the gift-giving type." she thought, sadly. Then she heard a familiar voice from behind her, gently whisper, "Close your eyes, Mist" Obeying the commands of her beau, she smiled and closed her eyes. She felt something cold around her neck, and after about 30 seconds Ash said, "Ok, open." Misty opened her eyes and saw the beautiful necklace around her neck. It was a Milotic surrounded by shimmering sapphires. Her emerald eyes filled with tears, and she jumped into Ash's arms. "I'm such a lucky girl." Misty admitted into his ear.

The stars were twinkling above the group of friends standing in the front yard. It was almost 10:00 and the others had to start heading home. Everyone was hugging and saying their goodbyes, when out of the corner of his eye, Gary noticed Dawn was on the phone. Then she was kicking a tree; she picked up a rock and threw it into the darkness. "GAHH!" She yelled. Puzzled by her violent behavior he walked a little closer and called out, "Dawn? Is everything ok?" She didn't realize anyone was watching. She tried not to take her anger out on Gary as she almost yelled, "My cruise back to Sinnoh got CANCELLED, because of a stupid bomb threat by FREAKING TEAM ROCKET." Gary didn't know what to say, he had an idea but he didn't want to make her feel like she had to stay in Pallet. "Well my grandad always has some extra rooms at his laboratory. If you need to stay the night, he would be glad to lend you a room." Dawn's face broke into a relieved smile, "That would actually be really great, thank you so much."

After everyone had left, Gary announced that he would walk Dawn to the lab. "There's no reason for a lady to walk anywhere alone, at night." stated a big-headed Gary. Ash rolled his eyes again, "Drop the knightly act Gary, you're making me sick." While Ash pretended to puke, Gary opened the door for Dawn and led the way.

The two walked most of the way in silence, Gary's auburn hair was vibrant under the moonlight. Occasionally Dawn would comment on how cute Pallet is. Gary mostly just nodded. Once they arrived, he explained the situation to Professor Oak. He was very understanding and prepared a room for Dawn immediately. "It's so nice to meet you, Professor Oak. Thank you guys again. This really means a lot." She smiled a giant smile, whenever she smiled her sky blue eyes smiled too. As she headed to her room, Professor Oak raised a suspicious eyebrow at Gary. "What?" replied Gary. "Oh, nothing." said his grandad with a smile.

Dear Diary,

I had a great time at the party, I feel like I haven't seen Ash and Misty in ages. My boat back home got cancelled. But I met a nice boy today that got me a room at Professor Oaks lab. That was super sweet. Ash always said that Gary was a real jerk, but I just don't see it. Hopefully I can get another ship home soon, but honestly Pallet isn't all that bad, Dawn.

Dear Diary,

That party was more fun that I thought it would be. I'm glad Ashy-boy finally found someone to take care of him. I met a girl at the party that is stuck in Pallet for a while. Maybe I can get to know her a little better, Gary.


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

Hi guys! So this is the second chapter of my first Fic. I hope everyone likes it. Please give me feedback, anything helps. Sorry if my grammar is off anywhere, feel free to let me know. I have another Fic that I also just started call How Could You? If you're into Rocketshipping then you should check it out!

Chapter two

Dawn's eyes slowly fluttered open, her hair slightly ruffled from the previous night's festivities. She sat up and stretched. As she let out a sweet little yawn, her nose sensed a wonderful smell. "Eggs...Bacon..." She happily thought. Without even tidying up, she stumbled out of her room and into the Lab's kitchen. Professor Oak smiled as he noticed the petite figure enter the room.

"Good morning, sweetie. I hope you like eggs and bacon." he said.

"I don't just like them; I love them." replied Dawn, still too dazed to be enthusiastic. The Professor prepared two **plates** and sat at the table. Dawn chowed down.

"You know, I don't usually cook breakfast like this. It takes a special someone to get me to make a meal." he joked.

"Thank you so much Professor. Since you cooked me this delightful meal, I feel obliged to clean up the mess." she said, as she rose to put her words into action.

"Such a nice young lady." the professor mumbled to himself.

After cleaning the kitchen, Dawn check her phone and found that she had a text from Ash that read, "Mist and I r coming 2 the lab 12:00 to show you all my Pokemon that Professor Oak is taking care of." Dawn giggled at the thought of Ash trying to compose a text with the appropriate 'slang'. He had never been into texting before. She replied simply with, "K, see you then," Because it was only 9:00, Dawn decided to take a walk around Pallet while she waited for her friends. She released Pachirisu and placed it on top of her head.

"How about a little walk?" she asked her adorable blue Pokemon.

Humming an upbeat tune, she strolled down some of Pallet's dirt roads. She admired all of the cozy houses and small gardens that she passed. Pachirisu wanted to walk around so it jumped down from Dawn's head and began to frolic around. Dawn loved to cloud watch. She began to zone out as she imagined what each individual cloud looked like. One looked like Pachirisu! When she glanced down to check on her Pokemon, she froze. It was nowhere to be found.

"Oh goodness, it was right here just 30 seconds ago! Where could it have gone? What if it gets lost?" Dawn thought frantically. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called for her Pokemon.

Then she heard a familiar voice from behind, "Hey, I think this little one belongs to you." Dawn spun around and was relieved at what she saw. Her beloved Pachirisu was perched atop Gary Oak's head.

"Wow, Pachi has never been so open to anyone like that before, it really likes you. Thanks so much, Gary!" said Dawn.

"No problem! What are you doing out here?" inquired a curious Gary.

"Well, Ash and Misty are coming over to the lab a little later to show me the rest of his Pokemon. I had some extra time so I went on a walk." explained Dawn, looking at the ground. "Hmm, well I can't let Ash steal ALL the spotlight. I think I'll join you guys. Maybe I can display some of my awesome Pokemon too." replied Gary, with a smirk.

"That would be awesome, I never get to see any of these kind of Pokemon back in Sinnoh. The more the merrier!" The two walked back to the lab, Pachirisu fell asleep on top of Gary's auburn hair, which caused Dawn to giggle. As they approached the lab, it began to rain. The puffy clouds that Dawn had just been observing were rolling away and being replaced with black, ominous ones. The two trainers raced inside in an attempt to stay dry.

Ash and Misty were already waiting inside. When Dawn entered the play area for the lab's Pokemon, she was blown away. A wide open field, spotted with various obstacles and play equipment that would occupy any rambunctious Pokemon for hours and hours. Then she noticed that it wasn't raining anymore. "Is there a roof over us?" she asked, completely baffled as to how the weather could've changed so quickly.

"Yea, it's weird isn't it? It really does look like we are outside, but we are completely indoors. This must've costed gramps a fortune!" explained Gary.

"Oh wow! That so cool!" She squealed. She took in the amazing room for a few minutes, and then, before asking permission, she bellowed, "Come out everyone!" As the red rays from the pokeballs disappeared, a Buneary, Mamoswine, Togekiss, Pachirisu, Quilava, and Piplup began excitedly running about. Gary chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "What?" chirped Dawn, defensively.

"Nothing, it's just that Pallet is so small, and not a lot of people are as spontaneously as you are. I like it; it's fun to never know what's coming next." said Gary, scratching the back of his head and smiling. Nobody but Dawn noticed, but that was one quirk that Gary unknowingly picked up from Ash. If he is nervous, his hand goes straight to the back of his head. It would make Gary and Ash sick to know that they had anything in common. Dawn just smirked and ran over to Ash.

"Oh, Mr. Pokemon Master, please show me your Pokemon!" she pretended to beg, dramatically getting on her knees.

Ash, feeding into the attention he was getting, turned around his cap and shouted, "Hey guys!" Dawn's eyes widened as, for no apparent reason, the ground began to rumble.

"You might wanna hold onto something." shouted Misty, as the sound became louder. Ash's Tauros stampede came into view which both terrified and amazed Dawn. By the time the Tauros reached their trainer, the ground was shaking violently. The pack picked up Ash and took off with him. Ash giggled as the stamped carried him out of sight again. Dawn didn't know if she should be concerned or not. Now coming into view were the rest of Ash's pokemon, at least 30 other various Pokemon. These Pokemon were from all regions. Dawn's eyes sparkled as she approached each and every one.

"Humph," grunted Gary. "Come on out guys!" Three Pokemon came bounding out of his pokeballs, and around ten more scampered out from their hiding places in the lab's sanctuary. Although his collection wasn't nearly as large, it was still impressive. She adored every new Pokemon that she encountered.

About ten minutes later, the ground began to quake once more. The stampede sprinted by and dropped Ash off. He could only laugh and attempt to dust himself off. Misty took advantage of her boyfriend's disoriented state, stole his hat off of his heard, and ran away laughing. Ash quickly recovered and took off after her, leaving Gary and Dawn alone on the Pokemon playground. Dawn recalled her Pokemon and started towards the exit. Gary followed. All of the sudden, everything went dark. A large thunderclap bellowed, and the heavy sheets of rain could be heard pounding the roof. Dawn screamed and reached in the darkness towards Gary. She grabbed Gary's arm and trembled.

Unsure of what to do, Gary whispered, "It's ok, just a power outage. Hold on to me and I'll try to find our way out of here." He tossed a pokeball in the air that released Umreon. Slowly, with the help of Umreon's glow, Gary led the way to the door that opens into the laboratory's main hall. After they exited the playground, they spotted a faint light coming towards them. A concerned Ash, Misty, and Professor Oak approached them, all carrying flashlights. Dawn quickly let go of Gary's arm before anyone would see. She blushed in the darkness.

"There has been a citywide power outage. This storm has knocked down several electricity lines." explained the professor, as he led them to the main lobby. Although the rain was causing an awful noise to emanate from the roof, they heard an anxious knock at the door. Gary opened the door, and the howling wind nearly knocked him over. He let the guest in and closed the door quickly. Ash pointed his flashlight at the visitor and realized that it was Mr. Mime. He felt his stomach drop. It was his mom's Mr. Mime. Even though the room was barely lit, Dawn could see Gary turn pale as a ghost.

"What's the matter? Is Mom ok?" Ash's voice cracked when he spoke. Mr. Mime tried his best to pantomime his message, but no one understood. Ash felt himself becoming lightheaded. Gary was grinding his teeth. Mr. Mime was frantically waving his arms, trying to make them understand. Suddenly Misty gasped from behind everyone.

"Oh my goodness. It's Delia. She hit her head on the kitchen cabinet when the lights shut off. That's what it's saying." she said, as she cupped her hands over her mouth in worry. Ash's face went stone cold. Gary swallowed hard. Within a matter of seconds Ash grabbed a flashlight, and Gary grabbed a first aid kit. They were out the door without a word. The two girls began to follow but Professor Oak grabbed them.

"It's too dangerous! I know you girls want to help, but I think they have it under control." ordered the Professor. Dawn plopped down on the couch and began to cry. Misty sat down beside her and patted her back.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine." assured Misty. Dawn just shook her head and continued to sob.

Dear diary,

Please let them be ok. Please let them be ok. Please let them be ok, Dawn.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Please stay tuned! How is Delia? Will Ash and Gary be ok? How long will the power outage last? Find out next time! Also be on the lookout, I might start a Fic about Max's journey. Peace out!


End file.
